


The Rise and Fall

by littleaider



Category: Henry Stickmin Series (Video Games)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-17 06:22:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29220915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleaider/pseuds/littleaider
Summary: A brief look at the rise and fall of three different Toppat leaders until the current day, the best and the worst.
Kudos: 21





	The Rise and Fall

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: All characters belong to Puffballs United, I'm just borrowing them and make up headcanons for a bunch of people we see in portraits.

Wilford held his hats in his hands as a sign of respect, his head bowed and his eyes closed as if deep in prayer. All around him, Toppats murmured words of condolences, well-wishes for the newly departed even when said deceased wasn't well liked by the end of his life. It wasn't like that at the start obviously Randy was an all-around swell guy and cheerful to a fault, determined to make sure the Clan had fun regardless of the consequences. Wilford had seen thought, the ledger, the piling debt, the ever depleting coffer. Beneath the Clan’s cheerful partying, he had seen the disaster that was coming. 

Wilford tried his best, advicing Randy to spend less, to please, pay attention to the spending, handle the Clan's money more frugally, but the Party Man had discarded Wilford's advice. In the end, Wilford had no choice- Randy was too far gone and he could not ignore his fellow Toppats worry any longer. The dethronement was quick, Randy had fought at first but accepted his execution in the end with his head held high and a small smile on his face. Wilford will never forget his former leader- and former friend- last words to him: 

' Take care of the Clan for me, Wilfy,' 

Despite all the unpleasantness between them in the end, the arguments, the fights, and the eventual scheming, the fact that Wilford himself organized the coup and the dethronement, he could not deny that he still felt a certain affection for his friend. At the least, Randy's final message let him know there was no resentment on his part towards the new leader. 

Finally lifting his head, Wilford swept his hats back on. There was no use grieving any longer. He had a job to do, a duty to the Toppat Clan and his now dead friend, he was their leader now and Wilford was determined to make things right. 

As he set off back to his room, he saw one of the younger member- Terrence, was it?- staring at him only to look away a second later. Based on the record, the lad was quite impressive in the field. Maybe Wilford can find a suitable position for him. 

_________________________________________________________________________ 

Wilford's heart was pounding in his chest. A bullet nearly grazed his left cheek but he avoided it at the last second. Breathing heavily, he quickly ran over to where the rest was supposed to group back. 

It was supposed to be a simple raid, but things had gone awry when some of their members were shot, and security had arrived earlier than anticipated, with a much larger number than they had predicted. Wilford himself was shot at his side, which greatly hindered his movements, but it was either deal with the pain or die. 

More bullets flew past him, he could see the Toppats in the mission ahead of him, some rushing forward to help. Wilford barely had time to shout at them, to go back to safety, he could handle himself just go - before he felt a sudden impact on his back and a flare of pain erupting from it. He fell on the floor, facedown. Blood soaked into his clothes. The last thing Wilford saw before his world turned black, was Terrence running at him screaming, with his gun in his hand. 

As his mind went blank, Wilford felt content knowing that he had done his best for the Clan. 

________________________________________________________________________ 

Terrence stood in front of Wilford's grave, his hands shaking, struggling to control his composure from the rest of the higher ups who were no doubt getting a hold of the new man in charge, the replacement for the Clan's best leader in history who had brought them to an age of prosperity. 

He felt dizzy. He, Terrence Suave, the leader of the Toppat Clan? Never in his life did he think he would achieve such a position, but of course, as Wilford's previous Right Hand Man, it was only natural that he would be the next in line. 

Wilford, the best leader in Toppat history. How could he possibly live up to that? If only he had been faster, Terrence might have been able to save his leader and friend, and save himself from this predicament. 

'No, not a predicament,' a tiny voice in his mind said. 'An opportunity,'. Wilford made him his Right Hand for a reason. It was because Terrence had been the best candidate, and surely that meant he was able to lead the Clan as well. 

After the funeral was done, Terrence went back to his office - once Wilford's - and started to work. Staring at the paperwork in front of him, Terrence felt sick. Surely there was no need for this nonsense? Terrence always heard that one should play to their strengths. He might not have a mind for paperwork, but he knew his skill for raids was next to none. Maybe he should plan one for the future, a museum sounded like a good place to start….. 

_______________________________________________________________________ 

God, he was a fool. How could he not see this coming? 

Standing on the plank, the open sky behind him and Toppats with guns in their hands and Reginald as the head in front of him, Terrence wanted to scream. 

He should've seen this coming. The whispers, the hateful stares, the increasing number of Toppats fallen in raids that he had launched, the loss they suffered- it was Randy Radman all over again, except Randy had never screwed up this bad, never caused the Clan to lose so much of their member and suffered humiliating failures in such a short span of time. And unlike Randy, Terrence doubted he could smile through all of this. He will go down as one of the worst leaders in Toppat history, and there was no one to blame but himself. 

He thought of Wilford, who made him his Right Hand, of the trust he and the other members had put on him when they made him leader. How could Terrence had let them down this bad? Perhaps it was for the best. That he sacrificed his life for the Clan, to give them a chance for a new start and fix his mistakes. 

As Terrence prepared himself to go, to feel the wind ripping on him as he fall, he turned around one last time, and saw Reginald Copperbottom, a look of pain and determination on his face. Terrence remembered the sheer determination on the other man’s face, how he would always improvise and done his best to make sure that everyone in his team would make it out of a raid as best as possible. Reginald was a Toppat who valued the life of every member, as well as the clan’s success. He would make a good leader, Terrence was sure of that. That was some small form of comfort at least. 

Terrence closed his eyes, and fell. 

_______________________________________________________________________ 

Reginald stared at the clouds and the endless blue sky in front of him. The day was like any other, piloting the airship and handling the paperworks in his spare time. Perhaps he should hold a meeting tomorrow, to plan ahead for new weapons to use in future raids. 

Things had not been easy at first. It was no small task, to rebuild the Clan from the damage Terrence had done, so carelessly brought down after Wilford had ushered the Toppat into a new era of glory. Reginald wondered if this is what Wilford had felt, when he took the leadership from Randy's disastrous mishandling of the Toppats. 

But Reginald had persevered. He worked hard to ensure that the Toppats get back on their feet and restore them to their shining glory and success. Endless paperwork, meetings, carefully handling the finances and planning missions to ensure they won't run out of supplies. The Toppats from the past 20 years had witnessed how Reginald Copperbottom shed his blood, sweat and tears for the Clan. And as he sat on his usual place in the airship, Reginald can proudly say he earned his position. 

One day, soon, he will go down in history as one of the best leaders the Toppats have ever known. Reginald will make sure of that. 

________________________________________________________________________ 

Some distance away, unknown to the Toppats, a man woke up in a helicopter. The whirring of the copter's blade filled his ears, the sound of the winds of change yet to come. 


End file.
